LG Wing 5G vs Galaxy Z Fold2 5G: Should you swivel or continue to fold

Both the phones are different in approach they bring to the table. When closed both of these look like any other big screen smartphone. The first real glimpse of something unreal is when you flick the LG Wing's 6.8-inch P-OLED FullVision display to swivel (clockwise) into a horizontal orientation to reveal a second – rather smaller – 3.9-inch screen below. The Galaxy Z Fold2 5G however retains the same book-like design philosophy employed in the first Fold smartphone, only that this time it is more refined, sturdier, and good to behold.

When opened, the Samsung device reveals a massive 7.6-inch Dynamic AMOLED display with a new 120Hz adaptive refresh mode, which extends out wide to minimize the bezel. It is bisected halfway through with a hinge mechanism for folding the phone, but it is no way a hindrance when you have the phone open flat. On the outside – when folded – the phone has a 6.2-inch screen with a very thin bezel again, a big up from the small secondary display on the original Fold.

Both the phones can be used in the basic mode i.e. like a normal smartphone. The Wing can be swiveled to pop out the smaller screen so the apps can either be used across both screens or any two apps can be used simultaneously – one on each screen. Interestingly, the second screen can also be used as a grip – there is something called the Grip Lock which can be activated so that accidental touches don't ruin the experience on the main display now in landscape mode.

Galaxy Z Fold2 5G extends the goodness of the biggest foldable phone promise to provide a decent display upfront for tasks on the go and a massive – tablet-like – display for when you need it popping right out of the pocket. The external display is protected with Gorilla Glass Victus, while the foldable display is covered by Samsung's Ultra-Thin Glass (UTG) for brighter and impressive picture quality and foldability. The hinge mechanism here is more user-friendly and sturdier than before. The gap between the screens has been taken care of and Flex mode ensures you can hold the folding display at any angle just like a laptop.

This is the most interesting part of the two smoothies from LG and Samsung. Speaking of the latter, Galaxy Z Fold2 5G has five cameras in total – a triple camera setup on the back comprising a 12MP primary shooter with an f/1.8 lens, a 12MP sensor with an f/2.2 ultra-wide-angle lens, and a 12MP sensor with an f/2.4 telephoto lens offering 2x optical zoom. On the front, on each screen, you get 10MP sensors with an f/2.2 lens for impactful selfies and it's without any notches.

LG Wing 5G also comes with a triple rear camera setup that houses a 64MP primary sensor with an f/1.8 lens. The other two in the housing include a 13MP sensor with an f/1.9 ultra-wide-angle lens and another 12MP sensor with an f/2.2 ultra-wide-angle lens with hexa motion sensors.

The presence of dual ultra-wide angle lenses is not a coincidence, in fact, one of these with the Grip Lock activated in swivel mode opens up the option of Gimbal Motion Camera feature that lets you control the camera angles using the smaller phone display as the virtual joystick. This enables you to reduce shakes or capture videos while moving with more stability; presenting a gimbal-like experience you'd enjoy tinkering with. What's slightly fragile on the LG Wing is the 32MP front camera stacked up in a pop-up module.

Without a second thought, with the folding and swiveling phones you need to know how durable they are to use in the real world scenario. LG to start with says, the Wing can withstand 200,000 swivels – good to last up to five years. It comes with a thermoplastic polyoxymethylene on the back of the main screen which prevents scratches on the second screen while the hydraulic hinge mechanism with dual spring and dual lock ensures the phone can swivel for years without a problem. The Wing gets an IP54 rating which means the Wing is dust and water-resistant too.

Compared to the first Fold, Samsung has improvised a great deal and gone ahead to redo the hinge mechanism and the display to make the smartphone as durable as impressive. To overcome the fragility of foldable phones, Samsung employs 1.4R curved display on the phone with Ultra-Thin Glass for a sleeker look – the display has smallest radius of curvature on a phone which means the phone folds more snugly along the crease and leaves no gap between the two screens when closed to allow in dust and small particles, which can cause the screen to shatter. The phone is not dust or water-resistant.